If there are several disadvantages inherent in movie buffs making their own movies, there is at least one notable advantage. They know what works and they know what doesn't work. They know what to retain and what to jettison. They know that we can't be hoodwinked easily, and that the same old stale techniques aren't going to achieve anything. There are horror movie tropes worth adhering to, and tropes worth discarding entirely. So Adam Wingard approaches You're Next from the perspective of an audience member who knows what they want, when they want it and how they want it. Exposition? What does it accomplish? We want an introduction to the characters and their inter-dynamics. We want an introduction to the scene, the location, the geography of the space which we will be inhabiting for the next hour and a half. But we know it's a horror film, so we know everything is not OK, so there's no point in pretending. Early, supposedly placid scenes are pervaded by ominous noises on the soundtrack, spooky lighting and framing, confirming our suspicions. And from here, Wingard strikes the perfect tone with near every turn You're Next takes. The violence is shocking but not sadistic. The comedy is clever but not cocky. And, by and large, he knows that there's little to be gained in stuffing his film with jumps and shock scares. He stages things artfully, like he was concerned with more than just creeping us out, but with satisfying us and the stylistic demands we naturally make of a movie, whether intentionally or not. And there's a deliciously wry twang to much of his material, an amusing contempt for those among the company who don't use their brains enough, or maybe use them too much. Sound design and score are excellent. Scripting is smart, but it's only Wingard's talent as director that saves the film from dying a particularly ugly death once its crass BIG TWIST collapses in on proceedings. Acting is decent, but Sharni Vinson in the lead is vivid and magnetic, and if none of the other characters give you much to root for (that may be the point), Vinson more than makes up for that. A resourceful thriller with a resourceful heroine.
